Castle of Saint Martin — Hotel in Draguignan

Travelling from Beziers towards Monaco, I once again was looking for a place to stay that would have some traditional romantic history as we hate staying in American style cookie-cutter hotels. I searched all over Nice and Cannes and the surrounding area but couldn't fins anything at all until I came across this beautiful place only 1 hour away from Nice and 1:19 away from Monaco.||Set on the grounds of an old winery that's still operating and offers tours for 10 Euros. ||It was so nice to be outside of the big French cities, as this chateau is out in the countryside and is a wonderful drive. The long driveway through the main gate takes you right up to the reception area which is located in the gift shop of the winery. Our receptionist was very happy, spunky girl who took us right to our room and supplied us with all of the codes to get into the various doors and gates.||We had choose the Superior Double Room, which had a big bed and a nice bathtub.||The room was sparse but lovingly appointed with period piece antiques and came with a free bottle of wine from their own vineyards!||Breakfast was served on the lower floor and was quite nice, lots of lovely bread, cheese, fruits and coffee from a Nespresso maker. ||my only complaint would be that there was some sporadic noise from nearby train tracks and that on our last day we were awoken by a worker with a leaf blower right outside of our window.||We stayed here for two nights and would definitely...

Beautiful setting in the Provençal countryside. The guest building has a shabby vintage charm. Breakfast was generally good with pleasant outdoor seating. Our room was not super clean but was acceptable. Nice gift shop/tasting room.||The only chair in our room was broken. There was no comfortable seating in any common area. No housecleaning during our 3-day stay, not even to make up the beds. Our friends were given a filthy room, crawling with bugs, with broken door handles. When their power went out it was impossible to contact management until the next day. No fire extinguishers, sprinklers, posted exit maps, etc. Supposed wifi non-existent. Electric gates were out of order when we tried to leave.||There were frogs in the pool: pro or con? You decide!||In any case,...

This old property dates back to 1740 and has been under the direction of women through the generation. The 86 year old Comtesse still resides in the Château. We visit the underground cave where wine is still fermented in huge vats dug directly in the bedrock. The vaulted ceilings house the oak casks where some of the wines are aged. We sample many different wines, rosés, whites and red which vary in intensity and character. We have lunch in the vast dining room and sample some of the local delicacies. Some charcuteiries, cheese and a pissaladière (onion and anchovy on a pizza like dough) accompanied by fresh country baguette. We have the Comtesse red to accompany our meal. After lunch we enjoy a leasurely stroll in the classic...